Sounds familiar? Meet the Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max computers

LAS VEGAS - Dell Technologies is rebranding its personal computers (PCs) in a manner reminiscent of Apple’s naming conventions, in an effort by the computer maker to spur demand.

Decades-old product names for PCs such as “XPS” and “Inspiron” will be killed in favour of simplified branding around the word Dell in its new generation of devices, the company announced on Jan 6 ahead of CES, the annual consumer electronics show happening this week.

“Customers really prefer names that are easy to remember and easy to pronounce,” chief operating officer Jeff Clarke said during a briefing with reporters ahead of the show. Buyers should not have to spend time “figuring out our nomenclature, which, at times, has been a bit confusing”, he said.

PC sales have been anaemic for years following a buying frenzy towards the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Dell and peers HP and Lenovo Group have been trying new strategies to encourage upgrades. Artificial intelligence-optimised systems and a coming end-of-support for Microsoft’s Windows 10 have been touted as catalysts for new purchases. 

Now, most of the company’s new PCs will be divided into three tiers: Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max. 

Attendees at the press briefing were quick to question the similarities with how Apple names its devices. Recent iPhone generations also carry the names “pro” and “pro max” to differentiate higher-tiered devices.

“I am wondering why you guys didn’t choose something original, because you essentially have Apple’s branding here,” one audience member quipped. Another said “your branding sounds a lot like Apple – aren’t you just following them?”

Dell executives defended the choice, saying nobody owns words like “pro” or “max”. The decisions were supported by research with “tens of thousands of customers”, Mr Clarke said. One similarity to Apple’s approach is the way that Dell is “anchoring” its products to one simple brand name, said Mr Kevin Terwilliger, a vice-president of Dell’s PC business.

Alienware, the brand of gaming-focused PCs Dell acquired in 2006, is exempt from the renaming. Many of the new Dell-branded devices will include neural processing units – chips optimised for AI tasks, Mr Terwilliger said in an interview.

Chief executive officer Michael Dell said at the press briefing: “There’s an install base of 1.5 billion PCs – and it’s ageing – and those PCs will need to be replaced with the AI innovation.” The new naming will “make it easier for our customers to do business with us”, he added. BLOOMBERG